1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to electronic messaging, and more particularly, to threaded group electronic communication.
2. Description of Background
In computer communication networks, one method of communication is electronic mail (email), in which a sending user prepares and sends a message over some form of computer network to a receiving user, usually on a remote system. Most email client applications, which are front-end computer programs that are typically used to maintain a message list identifying messages received for reading and processing by the recipient, also provide software to facilitate writing, replying to, forwarding, deleting, and filing emails. Email messages can either be sent to a single recipient or to a group to many people at once, by specifying several recipient addresses. This facilitates group communication, because each recipient can then do a group reply to send a response to each of the people who were sent the original message.
Email has become a ubiquitous means of communication for both business and personal use, and an active email user sends and receives a number of messages in any given day. Some messages that are received are junk mail that can be discarded unread, some are urgent alerts to be dealt with immediately, and other messages are pushed aside until the user has spare time available to read them. Nevertheless, many people become overloaded with more email messages than they have time to respond to, which can have the effect of disrupting workflow and efficiency.
A number of solutions have been proposed to address the problem of email overload. One area of interest is that of an electronic message forum. While email is a more formal form of communication that is suited for one-on-one communication or for initial information distribution to a group in a one-to-many fashion, it is not as useful for group discussions. The messages in a group email discussion are individual items that are not connected, which presents lost opportunity to track and analyze messages. Electronic message forums that aid users by visually grouping messages such as web logs (or “blogs”), as well as bulletin boards, newsgroups, and Internet forums, are better suited for aggregating distributed, electronic group communications into topic threads. In general, such forums are hosted at a website by a web server, and enable users to post a message that can be viewed by others who visit the web site by typing the message and uploading to the forum server. Users generally rely on text, although it is possible to insert images, media, links and other content. It is common practice to allow posters to view and read messages from others, to post replies or comments, and to create a topic that others can post replies to. Messaging forums may be conducted to be available to the general public, or they may have restricted access. For example, some messaging forums require individuals to create an account, and to login before posting a message. These applications present alternatives to disseminating information to groups and facilitating group communication on a topic that do not lead to email clutter.
Nevertheless, because of the present omnipresence of email as an electronic information dissemination and communication medium, a switch from email usage to usage of electronic message forums such as blogs presents a cultural shift barrier providing few technological solutions.